Some of the movie's key players hit the red carpet.
They already transformed Chicago into Gotham City for "The Dark Knight." And Wednesday night, they brought Hollywood to the city as well with an old fashioned red carpet for the screening of a movie that's generating a lot of buzz.
"The reviews are phenomenal... looks like we wrote them...this is the best movie ever," said Michael Caine, "The Dark Knight" star.
The chance to catch a glimpse of the movie's stars brought a huge crowd to Navy Pier.
"And it's phenomenal to be this close to the stars. And we love Batman, and the fact they're here in Chicago is great.," said Janet Hardnott, Batman fan.
The Illinois Film Office estimates "The Dark Knight" generated $40 million for the local economy, making it the biggest movie in the state's history. It also brought an A-list cast of Hollywood stars to the city, including the late Heath Ledger, who plays The Joker and is generating Oscar talk.
"He's certainly got every chance of being nominated It's as good as anybody's work out there," Gary Oldman, Batman star.
Most of these fans who showed up at Navy Pier didn't even get into the premiere. They'll have to wait for the general release Friday.
